


Children of the Exodus

by Lightless_Firefly



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:53:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9914138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightless_Firefly/pseuds/Lightless_Firefly
Summary: During the First World War, a large group of Shadowhunters left the Clave in order to help the mundanes in their war.  Years later, it's time to call upon some of their decedents to help stop Valentine and his men.Steve Rogers and James Barnes bonded over the horrors that only they could see as children.  The monsters that no one else noticed.  Now, aware of what they truly are, they're going to bring heroes into the Shadow World to stop a genocidal madman.





	1. The Exodus

History knew that Steve Rogers and James Barnes had met as children.  It knew that the two had become fast friends and stuck close together through their school years and into the war before both had died.  But then again, neither Steve nor James had actually died; and so it is clear that history often gets things wrong.

While it was true that Steve and James had been friends since they were children, it was the reason behind their bond of friendship that history had never actually been aware of.

It was more than a case of a stronger boy taking a weaker one under his wing and protecting him.  In truth, there was a part of James that was just as weak as Steve was physically.  Together, they made one another stronger.

Their first meeting hadn’t led to friendship.

In fact, Steve had felt that James was overly rambunctious and was likely just going to lead anyone he was friends with into a whole lot of problems in the future.  And James felt that Steve was a scrawny boy who was more likely to keel over and die than to ever be able to go on adventures with him.

But it was one day while Steve was drawing on some older paper that their connection was found.

James had come up behind him, fully intent on teasing the boy for his girly activities when he saw the beast that lay upon the paper.  His blood ran cold.  The monster was one that he had seen outside of his window just nights before.  And the various symbols upon the page were ones that he had seen marked into the skin of men and women who no one else seemed to notice.

It was the realization that they were both able to see these things that brought about their friendship.  And some nights, they would wake one another from the nightmares of the shared monsters that seemed to only exist within their own heads.

 

********  


“Alec?  What was the Exodus?”

Max was staying at the Institute while his parents worked on taking care of their own problems back in Idris.  They both felt it was better that Max was away from the fighting, and Alec and Izzy had both agreed that they would watch over him for a couple of weeks.

“Why do you ask?  You shouldn’t be learning about that until you’re older.”

Alec hadn’t learned about the Exodus until he had turned thirteen.  It was a touchy subject for the Clave and while they preferred to ignore that it had ever happened, it was a learning experience.  You needed to learn from the past, less you be doomed to repeat it.  Though honestly, they seemed to repeat a lot.

“I heard dad say that the clave should look into the Children of the Exodus to help.”

Alec sighed and moved about the library where he had been watching his brother study.  He came back a few moments later with a large black book that he set down in front of him.  He opened it up, showing the pictures inside.

“You know that mundanes love their wars.  In 1914, the First World War started.  A war on that scale had never been seen before and there were many Shadowhunters that felt that we should do what we could to help the Allied Powers.”

“Who were the Allied Powers?”

“Well, let’s see.  There were a lot of them.  But The United States was one.  Same with France, Britain, Italy…”

He opened the book to a page that had the list of the countries involved in both sides of the war.

“You see, there were some in the Central Powers that were trying to use supernatural means to win the war.  They would call upon the aid of demons, and enlist various downworlders to do their bidding.  Because of this, there was a group of Shadowhunters who felt that it was no longer simply a mundane war, but a war against our kind as well.”

He turned the page, showing demons going against innocent soldiers.

“Unable to sit back and let the mundanes be slaughtered, they gathered their families and they left their service to the Clave.  It was known as the Exodus.  Most of the men joined the war, and the women worked as nurses to help with demon poisoned wounds.  They did what they could, and eventually the war ended with victory to the Allied Powers.”

He ran his hand through Max’s hair as he flipped the page again.

“These people started living mundane lives.  They had families of their own and kept the shadow world hidden from them.  Over time, a few have ended up in mental hospitals, thinking that the things they see are hallucinations.  A few have found their way back to us.  But most of them are still out there.  The Clave has kept track of them.”

He left the book in front of Max before grabbing another.  This one was on World War 2.

“There are even a couple of famous war heroes that are Children of the Exodus.  In the Second World War, there was a force known as Hydra that used supernatural means to try and win the war, not for their native Germany but for themselves.  The Clave was very close to stepping in, but that was when Captain Steve Rogers joined the war.  Steve Rogers is a descendent of the original Shadowhunter line.  But he wasn’t alone.  His best friend James Barnes was also a Child of the Exodus.”

Here Alec sighed.

“He is…part of our family.”

What troubled him wasn’t that part of the Lightwood family had deserted, but what had happened to James after the war.  It wasn’t long ago that the truth of James Barnes came to light.  He had been working as an assassin for a very long time under Hydra and had only recently regained control of himself.  Only the Angel knew where he was now.  If he was even still alive.

“Did either of them have kids?  Could we go to them and ask for help?”

Alec shook his head at his brother’s question.

“Something strange happened to both of them.  Steve Rogers was frozen in ice for a very long time and revived back in 2012.  He became the hero known as Captain America who worked with The Avengers before they were recently disbanded.”

“What about James?”  There seemed to be a sadness in Max’s words.

“He became the assassin known as The Winter Soldier.  His mind was broken by evil.  He’s still as young as he was back then, but…”

“Couldn’t Magnus fix him?”

Alec’s expression changed.  “That seems like a very good idea.”


	2. Rescue

Everyone just assumes that when you go into cryo, everything shuts down.  It’s not true.  Your mind enters a dream like state, and it can still process things like cold.

Because of this, Bucky knew that he was incredibly cold.  In his dreams, it was always winter; even as memories that should have taken place in the summer came across his mind. 

Sometimes he would simply walk through frozen landscapes where everyone was frozen into blocks of ice.  Where the skin of monsters rippled, trying to free themselves from their icy prisons.  He had been looking at one of these frozen beings when the image appeared in the ice.  He turned slowly to see that the image stood there, whole and warm behind him.

It was a man, who appeared to be in his mid-twenties.  He was of Asian descent and covered in glitter.  Blue flames danced around his hands, and Bucky’s eyes were drawn to it.  He wanted it.  Wanted the warmth that it provided.

“James Barnes?”

He looked from the flames to the man’s face.

“Who are you?  How are you here?”

“My name is Magnus Bane.  I’m the High Warlock of Brooklyn.  I’m here, because I was asked to find you and fix your mind.”

Bucky didn’t know if this ‘Magnus Bane’ was actually there.  He shifted to face him more fully, his eyes wondering over him.

“And who asked you?”

Magnus moved past Bucky, looking at the monster frozen in ice.

“The same people that can tell you what this is, and what it means that you can see them.”

Magnus knocked on the ice surrounding the monster before turning back to him.

“It’s a demon by the way.  Nasty things, really.  My boyfriend, Alexander is the one that wants me to find and help you.  He’s part of a race that kills demons.  Most normal people can’t see them.  Most of those that do are like him.  Nephilim.”

Bucky let out a laugh that caused fog to billow out of his mouth.

“Bullshit.”

He had stopped believing in angels and demons, heaven and hell, god and the devil a very long time ago.  He knew from study as a child that a Nephilim was supposed to be the child of a human and an angel.

“The opposite of bullshit actually.  A very long time ago, a man named Jonathan Shadowhunter begged the angel Raziel for a way to fight the demons that were swarming Earth.  Thus, the Nephilim, known as Shadowhunters were created.  During the first great war, a group left to help normal people fight their war.  You, James Barnes, are descended from the Lightwood family.  It would make you a cousin to my boyfriend Alexander.  Your friend Steve is like you as well, descended from Jonathan Shadowhunter himself.  So please, tell me where you are so that I can come help you.”

Bucky paced.

As much as he would love family, and as much as he would love to know the reason behind why he saw these things; he had a feeling that there was something big behind why this man was here in his mind now.

“Why now?”

Magnus turned his gaze downward.

“Times are dark, James Barnes.  A shadowhunter named Valentine Morgenstern seeks to destroy all downworlders.  That is, warlocks, werewolves, vampires, the fair folk.  While there are some who are not the best sort of people; there are many who are good people who were either born what they are or were cursed with it.”

He meant that the werewolves and vampires were cursed, though several saw what they had become as a gift.

“And it’s worse than that.  He’s messing with demons.  He’s experimenting by mixing blood.  There is fear that it isn’t just the shadow world he will destroy if he wins this war, but much more.  He could very well succeed in bringing hell to Earth.”

Bucky wrapped his arms around himself.  Here in his mind he had two arms.  Both made of flesh and bone.  He closed his eyes tightly, willing the man to go away, but he knew that he wouldn’t.  His heart ached, and something in his mind told him that maybe this was his path to redemption.

“Wakanda.  Steve and I…we’re in Wakanda.”

Magnus reached out, resting a hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“We’ll come as soon as we can.”

 

*****  


The headache was powerful. 

Alec had come to Magnus and told him about the Exodus Children.  He had told him about Steve Rogers and James Barnes, the two Nephilim who had become heroes and had recently been all over the news.  He had told him that James was his cousin, and that Steve was descended from Jonathan Shadowhunter himself.

The number of shadowhunters was finite.  While Valentine could make more, they could not.  Who better to help them than two soldiers?  Those who had known war for so long.

Magnus had been against it at first, of course.  After all, they were soldiers who had known war for so long.  They should just be allowed to rest.  Of course, then Alec had told him what he really wanted.  He didn’t just want them to join up for the war.  James should have a family, he had said.  Steve as well.  Both men were displaced from their time and if anyone could understand them it was the Nephilim.

And so, Magnus had agreed.

But connecting to James Barnes mind using Alec’s blood had been exhausting, and the damage done to the man’s mind had made his own ache.

Alec brought his boyfriend a cup of tea, and the warlock smiled softly at him.

“So, what do we know?”

Magnus took a sip of his tea and looked around the room.  Alec was kneeling in front of him, but there were others.  Jace stood beside Isabelle and Clary, and Simon had his arms wrapped around Clary.  Raphael stood a little way off.  Captain America had been his hero growing up.

“It won’t be easy to get them.  I can’t simply portal us in, because they’re in a country I’ve never been to.  And above that…it’s a country with closed boarders.  They’re in Wakanda.”

The Nephilim looked at one another.  They had never heard of the country before.  But Simon sighed.

“Got something to say, Sherman?”  By now, Jace knew Simon’s name well, but he didn’t have to like it.

“Wakanda is a small nation in Africa.  They’re more technologically advanced than any of the other countries there.  Perhaps even than America.  They’re also the richest deposit of Vibranium.  It’s a powerful metal.  Rare.  In order to protect it from falling into the wrong hands, they closed their boarders.  They’re the only ones that can harvest it, and they have the weapons and man power to back it up.  If you can’t take a portal in, then your only chance will be get as close to the boarder as you can and then use glamour to get in.  But I’m not sure if that will even work.”

“And why wouldn’t it?  They can’t stop what they can’t see.”  Alec stood from where he was kneeling in front of Magnus, focused on Simon now.

“Because glamour hides you from human eyes.  Not mechanical ones.  You’ll still trip motion sensors, thermal sensors, they’ll see human shaped intruders even if they can’t see you with their eyes.  I mean, I suppose that magic could counteract it, but it’s still a risk.”

Jace nodded.  “It’s one we’ll have to take.”

*******  


It was hot, and humid, and their clothes stuck uncomfortably to their skin.  Alec had unwillingly screamed a few times in their trek through the jungle because of the very large spiders he had stumbled across.  Magnus of course, looked cool, calm, and collected due to the various forms of magic he had keeping him cool, but he felt bad for his boyfriend.

It was a small group that they had taken.  Isabelle had remained home to watch Max, and Clary was with her, helping out.  It was just the three of them, Magnus, Alec, and Jace.  The small number would be easier to get past the various forms of security.

“Glamour up boys.  Just beyond that rise is Wakanda.”

For a moment, Jace and Alec vanished from Magnus’ sight before he used his natural eyes to see through their glamour.  The remainder of the walk was exhausting.  It was all uphill, fighting dense vegetation the entire way.  But when they finally made it to the top of the rise, the sight of Wakanda greeted them.  A giant statue of a panther loomed out of the mist and the three looked at one another with soft smiles.  They were one step closer to their goal.

It was still a couple more hours before they were walking through the streets of the main village.  So far, Magnus’ magic and own invisibility spell had been able to keep them unseen.  They still had to be on lookout, and eventually, they made it into the research building that they were looking for.

Two and a half hours after arriving in Wakanda, they stood before the cryogenic chamber of James Buchanan Barnes.

*******  


It was the sound of alarms that woke Steve from his sleep.  He had been sleeping a lot more lately.  Between the dense heat of the country and the lack of anything to do, he had mostly entered a vegetative state, and yet at the sound of the alarm he was up and ready for action.

He found himself in the command center where cameras were focused on Bucky’s cryo room.  The temperature on the chamber was dropping, and Bucky was being thawed.

“What’s going on?  Who’s lowering the temperature?”  He was angry.  More than angry.  Someone was after Bucky again and he couldn’t let that happen.

“We don’t know.  There is no one in the room.”

“Zoom out.  Let me see.”

The cameras showed the entire room now, and while other eyes saw nothing, his own caught the two young men standing before the chamber, and the third man flickering in and out of existence.  The marks on their skin were familiar, but shouldn’t have been possible.  He and James had been sure that those marks were some shared hallucination.  Could it be that they were wrong?

“Lock down the compound.  No one gets in our out.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Rogers; you are not my superior.”

Steve offered his scowl to the security personnel.  The man pushed the activation button.  The facility shut down.

******  


The lights went out briefly, causing the two Nephilim to look around while Magnus focused on unfreezing James safely.

“What was that?”  Alec looked around the darkened room, checking to see that his boyfriend was safe.

They hadn’t known they had set off silent alarms by thawing James.  But clearly something was going on.

When the lights came back on, they were blood red.  Security lights.

“He’s coming.  Rogers.  He knows we’re here.  He’ll be able to see us.  Prepare for a fight, Alec.  Because one is coming.”

There wasn’t much time to prepare before the door burst open and a very angry Steve Rogers glares at the group.

“All these years, I thought I was insane, but I can’t possibly be insane when you’re actually standing here, coming after him.  You can’t have him.  I won’t let him get hurt again.”  Cold rage filled Steve Rogers, and the pair of parabatai felt cold fear run through themselves.  They had faced demons and circle members, but never had they faced an Avenger before.

“Diplomacy over fighting?”  Alec could hope.

“No, he’s totally going to kick our ass one way or the other.”

“Fuck.”  Alec hardly ever swore, but when he did; the situation was bad.

There wasn’t much time to think as they were dodging fists.  Jace ended up slammed against a wall, but grabbed up a metal mop handle to use as a weapon.  Alec pulled out his bow and arrows, pointing at the man before him.

“Just wait and listen.  We’re not the bad guys.  We’re here to help.”

“Help?  Help by hurting him!?”

Alec let an arrow fly, but Steve caught it.  He had only a moment to be impressed before cold blue eyes moved towards Magnus.  Anger filled Alec now, and in a very stupid move he jumped on Steve’s back.

“He’s my family!  I’m here to help him.  I’m here to help James!”

Steve stilled for a moment, confused as to why someone would actually jump on his back.  He slammed Alec back against the nearest wall, causing him to gasp in pain as his grip loosened and he fell to the floor.

“Steve.  Stop.”

Steve froze, eyes facing a very exhausted looking James Barnes.  The man that had previously been flickering out of existence now worked to hold up his weight.

“I told them where we were.  They’re here to fix my head.”

James sagged.  Magnus wasn’t enough to hold him up, but Steve was by his side in an instant, helping him down to the ground.

“Buck.  Stay with me.”

Blue tendrils of magic slipped from Magnus’ fingers and into Bucky’s body.  He gasped, feeling himself warm up and his exhaustion fade.  He slumped against Steve in relief.  He was off balance without his left arm, or the mechanical one that had once taken its place.

“What do you mean, Buck?”

Bucky squeezed Steve’s hands.

“Magnus…the uh…cat guy.”

Magnus let out an annoyed sound from where he was now standing, looking over Alec.

“He came into my mind.  He told me everything.  Why we can see those things that we both saw.  What they really were.  He told me where we came from.  Steve, they need our help, and we need theirs.  You don’t have to trust them.  Just…trust me.”

Steve squeezed Bucky’s hand and nodded.

“I trust you Buck.  Always.”  


End file.
